Developers Plan More Apartments in Pittsburgh’s SouthSide Works

A group of investors is planning to develop a 170-unit apartment building on Hot Metal Street at the SouthSide Works. The Pittsburgh Business Times reports that Oxford Development and North Side-based PJ Dick have called off their plan to build a 120,000-square-foot office structure at the site and have instead partnered with Lincoln Property Co. to develop a residential complex.
Oxford Development Co. President and CEO Steven Guy told the newspaper that the proposed office project located between a SpringHill Suites Hotel and the Circuit Center union facility has generated insufficient interest from tenants.

A group of investors is planning to develop a 170-unit apartment building on Hot Metal Street at the SouthSide Works. The Pittsburgh Business Times reports that Oxford Development and North Side-based PJ Dick have called off their plan to build a 120,000-square-foot office structure at the site and have instead partnered with Lincoln Property Co. to develop a residential complex.

Oxford Development Co. President and CEO Steven Guy told the newspaper that the proposed office project located between a SpringHill Suites Hotel and the Circuit Center union facility has generated insufficient interest from tenants.

“CBRE and Oxford Realty services have been co-marketing that site for nearly two years, and although we have come close on two or three occasions of getting an anchor tenant to kick it off, nobody has pulled the trigger on it,” he said.

On the other hand, apartment demand on the South Side seems to be on the rise. The Soffer Organization has also launched a rental residential project in the area.

“I think there’s great demand for apartments on the South Side,” Guy added. “The question is obviously, are people willing to pay what it costs to build?”

In other news, developer Todd Palcic is planning to convert the former Graphic Arts building in downtown Pittsburgh into apartments. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the redevelopment of the eight-story, red-brick property at 422 First Avenue will result in 33 to 37 residences. Most of the units will be one-bedrooms, with rents ranging from $1,200 to $1,400 for an 800-square-foot home. Construction is expected to begin next year and be complete by 2015.

The developer recently paid $800,000 for the 35,000-square-foot building, as well as $350,000 for an adjacent lot which will be used as parking. The transaction was brokered by CBRE.

The repositioning of the First Avenue structure is Palcic’s fourth residential project in the city’s downtown area. The developer has already converted two Penn Avenue buildings into condominiums and is currently redeveloping a third into apartments. Called Lando Lofts, the project will feature 27 luxury rental units.